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Is Charles River Associates (CRAI) Stock Outpacing Its Business Services Peers This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Business Services stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is CRA International (CRAI - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

CRA International is one of 316 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. CRA International is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRAI's full-year earnings has moved 5.3% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, CRAI has gained about 55.1% so far this year. At the same time, Business Services stocks have gained an average of 6.3%. This shows that CRA International is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is ABM Industries (ABM - Free Report) . The stock has returned 22.1% year-to-date.

For ABM Industries, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, CRA International is a member of the Consulting Services industry, which includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #90 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 7.8% so far this year, meaning that CRAI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

ABM Industries, however, belongs to the Building Products - Maintenance Service industry. Currently, this 3-stock industry is ranked #42. The industry has moved +11.6% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to CRA International and ABM Industries as they could maintain their solid performance.


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